Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07K—PEPTIDES
  • C07K14/00—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof
  • C07K14/005—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof from viruses
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12N—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
  • C12N15/00—Mutation or genetic engineering; DNA or RNA concerning genetic engineering, vectors, e.g. plasmids, or their isolation, preparation or purification; Use of hosts therefor
  • C12N15/09—Recombinant DNA-technology
  • C12N15/63—Introduction of foreign genetic material using vectors; Vectors; Use of hosts therefor; Regulation of expression
  • C12N15/79—Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts
  • C12N15/82—Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts for plant cells, e.g. plant artificial chromosomes (PACs)
  • C12N15/8241—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology
  • C12N15/8261—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield
  • C12N15/8271—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield for stress resistance, e.g. heavy metal resistance
  • C12N15/8279—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield for stress resistance, e.g. heavy metal resistance for biotic stress resistance, pathogen resistance, disease resistance
  • C12N15/8283—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield for stress resistance, e.g. heavy metal resistance for biotic stress resistance, pathogen resistance, disease resistance for virus resistance
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12N—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
  • C12N5/00—Undifferentiated human, animal or plant cells, e.g. cell lines; Tissues; Cultivation or maintenance thereof; Culture media therefor
  • C12N5/04—Plant cells or tissues
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12N—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
  • C12N2770/00—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA ssRNA viruses positive-sense
  • C12N2770/00011—Details
  • C12N2770/14011—Bromoviridae
  • C12N2770/14022—New viral proteins or individual genes, new structural or functional aspects of known viral proteins or genes

Definitions

• the present invention is in the fields of genetic engineering and plant husbandry, and especially provides a means for producing a virus resistant plant by transforming a plant to contain a plant-expressible foreign gene directing synthesis of a viral coat protein. Also provided are plant-transforming prokaryotic plasmid vectors carrying such plant-­expressible RNA and plant cells transformed by such a vector.
• Ti tumor- or transformation-inducing plasmids
• Ri root-inducing plasmids
• Ti and Ri plasmids both contain DNA sequences, known as T-DNA (transferred-DNA), which in tumors are found to be inte­grated into the genome of the host plant.
• T-DNA genes are under control of T-DNA promoters which resemble canonical eukaryotic promoters in structure. These plasmids also carry genes outside the T-DNA region. Ti and Ri plasmids are for many purposes functionally equivalent.
• Plant cells can be transformed by Agrobacterium by several methods well known in the art. For a review of recent work, see Syono K (1984) Oxford Surveys Plant Mol. Cell Biol. 1 :217-219.
• Agrobacterium The infection of plant tissue by Agrobacterium is a simple technique well known to those skilled in the art. Typically after being wounded, a plant is inoculated with a suspension of the bacteria. Alternatively, tissue pieces are innoculated, e.g. leaf disks (Horsch RB et al . (1985) Science 227 :1229-1231). After induction with wild-type Agrobacterium , the tumors are capable of phytohormone-independent growth. Traditional inocu­lation and culture techniques may be modified for use of disarmed T-DNA vectors incapable of hormone-independent growth (e.g. see Zambryski P et al . (1984) in Genetic Engineering, Principles, and Methods , 6 , eds.: Hollaender A and Setlow J, pp. 253-278).
• Agrobacterium is also capable of infecting isolated cells, cells grown in culture, callus cells, and isolated protoplasts (e.g. Fraley RT et al . (1984) Plant Mol. Biol. 3 :371-378; Fraley RT and Horsch RB (1983) in Genetic Engineering of Plants: an Agricultural Perspective , eds.: Kosuge T et al ., pp. 177-194; Muller A et al . (1983) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 123 :458-462).
• the transformation frequency of inoculated callus pieces can be increased by addition of an opine or opine precursors (Cello LM and Olsen WL, U.S. Patent 4,459,355).
• the host range of crown gall pathogenesis may be influenced by T-DNA-­encoded functions such as onc genes (Hoekema A et al . (1984) J. Bacteriol. 158 :383-385; Hoekema A et al . (1984) EMBO J. 3 :3O43-3O47; Buchholz WC and Thomasshow MF (1984) 16O :327-332; Yanofsky M (1985) Mol. Gen. Genet. 2O1 :237-246). Vir genes also affect host range (Yanofsky, supra ). Ausich RL, European Patent Application 1O8,58O, reports transfer of T-DNA from A .
• T-DNA, disarmed T-DNA, and functional foreign genes of transformed plants are usually transmitted through meiosis to progeny seemingly unal­tered in a dominant, closely-linked, Mendelian fashion (e.g. see Horsch RB et al . (1984) Science 223 :496-498; Tepfer D (1984) Cell 37 :959-967; DeBlock M et al . (1984) EMBO J. 3 :1681-1689; Wöstemeyer A et al . (1984) Mol. Gen. Genet. 194 :5OO-5O7; Wallroth M et al . (1986) Mol. Gen. Genet. 2O2 :6-15).
• Two unlinked T-DNAs can transform a single cell and, after plant regeneration, segregate in the F1 generation (de Framond AJ et al . (1986) Mol. Gen. Genet. 2O2 :125-131).
• T-DNA is often integrated (i.e. inserted) into host DNA at multiple sites in the nucleus. Flanking plant DNA may be either repeated or low copy number sequences. Integrated T-DNA can be found in either direct or inverted tandem arrays and can be separated by spacers. T-DNA can also transform chloroplasts (De Block M et al . (1985) EMBO J. 4 :1367-1372; see review by Flavell RB (11985) Bioessays 3 :177-178).
• T-DNA of an octopine-type plasmid found in ATCC 15955, pTi15955 has been reported (Barker RF et al . (1983) Plant Mol. Biol. 2 :335-35O) as has the T L region of pTiAch5 (Gielen J et al . (1984) EMBO J. 3 :835-846). Published T-DNA genes do not contain introns. Sequences resembling canonical eukaryotic promoter elements and polyadenylation sites can be recognized.
• Octopine Ti plasmids carry an ocs gene which encodes octopine syn­thase (lysopine dehydrogenase).
• Koncz C et al . (1983) EMBO J. 2 :1597-16O3 provides a functional analysis of ocs .
• Dhaese P et al . (1983) EMBO J. 2 :419-426 reported the utilization of various polyadenylation sites by "transcript 7" (ORF3 of Barker R et al ., supra ) and ocs .
• the presence of the enzyme octopine synthase within a tissue can protect that tissue from the toxic effect of various amino acid analogs, e.g.
• Nopaline Ti plasmids encode the nopaline synthase gene ( nos ) (sequenced by Depicker A et al . (1982) J. Mol. Appl. Genet. 1 :561-573). Shaw CH et al . (1984) Nucl. Acids Res. 12 :7831-7846, provides a functional analysis of nos . Genes equivalent to tms and tmr have been identified on a nopaline-type plasmid (Willmitzer L et al . (1983) Cell 32 :1O45-1O56).
• Ti and Ri plasmid genes outside of the T-DNA region include the vir genes, which when mutated result in an avirulent Ti plasmid.
• the vir genes function in trans , being capable of causing the transformation of plant cells with T-DNA of a different plasmid type and physically located on another plasmid.
• Such arrangements are known as binary systems and the T-DNA bearing plasmids are generally known as micro-Ti plasmids.
• Dis­closed binary systems and micro-Ti plasmids include the following: Hoekema A et al . (1985) Plant Mol. Biol. 5 :85-89; Deblaere R et al . (1985) Nucl. Acids Res.
• T-DNA need not be on a plasmid to trans­form a plant cell; chromosomally located T-DNA is functional (Hoekema A et al . (1984) EMBO J. 3 :2485-249O).
• T-DNA has direct repeats of about 25 base pairs associated with the left and right borders, i.e. with the T-DNA/plant DNA junctions, which may be involved in either trans­fer from Agrobacterium or integration into the host genome.
• Ti plasmid-­determined characteristics have been reviewed by Merlo, supra (see especially Table II), and Ream and Gordon, supra .
• a gene encoding bean phaseolin has been transferred into and expressed in sunflower tumors (Murai N et al . (1983) Science 222 :476-­482).
• the phaseolin gene was expressed at a high level in developing tobacco seeds (Sengupta-Gopalan C et al . (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82 :332O-3324). Similar results have been observed with a homologous gene, soybean beta -conglycinin (Beachy RN et al . (1985) EMBO J. 4 :3O47-3O53).
• the nos promoter can drive expression of drug resistance structural genes useful for selection of transformed plant cells. Resistance genes have been created for kanamycin (Bevan MW et al . (1983) Nature 3O4 :184-­187; Fraley RT et al . (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 8O :48O3-48O7; Herrera-Estrella L et al . (1983) EMBO J. 2 :987-995), methotrexate (Herrera-Estrella et al ., supra ), chloramphenicol (Herrera-Estrella L et al .
• Fusion protein genes between the ocs structural gene, which also provided promoters, and structural genes for hygromycin B resistance and phaseolin have been created and are functional (Waldron C et al . (1985) Plant Mol. Biol. 5 :1O3-1O8; Murai N et al . (1983) Science 222 :476-482).
• An ocs driven glyphosate gene has been constructed (Comai L et al . (1985) Nature 317 :741-744).
• Promoters for octopine T L genes ORF24 and ORF25 could also drive structural gene expression (Velten J et al . (1984) EMBO J. 3 :2723-273O; Velten J and Schell J (1985) Nucl. Acids Res. 13 :6981-6998; Gelvin SB et al . (1985) Mol. Gen. Genet. 199 :24O-248; Comai L et al . (1985) Nature 317 :741-744).
• a chimeric RuBP-Case small subunit/kanamycin resistance protein was translocated into the chloroplast (Van den Broeck G et al . (1985) Nature 313 :358-363). That gene's promoter confers light-inducible expression in callus to chloramphenicol and kanamycin resistance genes (Herrera-­Estrella L et al . (1984) Nature 31O :115-12O; Facciotti D et al . (1985) Biotechnol. 3 :241-246). A chalcone synthase promoter also drove light-­inducible expression of a kanamycin resistance gene (Kaulen H et al . (1986) EMBO J.
• Chlorphyll a / b binding protein promoters have been used to drive expression of ocs and kanamycin resistance structural gene (Jones JDG et al . (1985) EMBO J. 4 :2411-2418; Simpson J et al . (1985) EMBO J. 4 :2723-2729).
• a kanamycin resistance gene under control of a cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) promoter was expressed in plant cells transformed by T-DNA (Koziel MG et al . (1984) J. Mol. Appl. Genet. 2 :549-562).
• a methotrexate resistance gene behind the CaMV 35S promoter conferred methotrexate resis­tance (Brisson N et al . (1984) Nature 31O :511-514).
• Tobacco mosaic virus coat protein has been expressed in transformed tobacco tissue under con­ trol of a CaMV promoter (Bevan MW et al . (1985) EMBO J. 4 :1921-1926). Odell JT et al . (1985) Nature 313 :81O-812, have mapped sequences of the CaMV 35S promoter needed for transcription.
• Distinct DNA molecules can be cotrans­formed into a plant cell; it is advantageous that one DNA in the mixture carries a selectable marker (Peerbolte R et al . (1985) Plant Mol. Biol. 5 :235-246). Descendants of plants regenerated from such transformed cells inherit the transformed hybrid gene as a single, dominant, Mendelian trait (Potrykus et al ., Mol. Gen. Genet., supra ).
• CaMV has proven useful as a plant transformation vector (Brisson N et al . (1984) Nature 31O :511-514; Brisson N and Hohn T (1986) Meth. Enzymol. 118 :659-668).
• Bromegrass mosaic virus (BMV) an RNA virus, can also be used in plants to express foreign structural genes (French R et al . (1986) Science 231 :1294-1297).
• Electroporation has proven useful for introducing chimeric genes into plant cells in a transient expression system (Fromm M et al . (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82 :5824-5828) and for stable transformation of maize cells (Fromm ME et al . (1986) Nature 319 :791-793).
• Cells can take up DNA surrounded by membranes.
• DNA including pTi DNA, may be introduced via liposomes (e.g. Deshayes A et al . (1985) EMBO J. 4 :2731-2737) or by fusion of plant and bacterial cells after removal of their respective cell walls (e.g. Hain R et al . (1984) Plant Cell Rept. 3 :6O-64).
• Plant protoplasts can take up cell wall delimited Agrobacterium cells. T-DNA can be transmitted to tissue regenerated from fused protoplasts.
• DNA can be stably integrated into a plant genome after microinjection (Crossway A et al . (1986) Mol. Gen. Genet. 2O2 :179-185).
• Alfalfa mosaic virus is one of a class of plant viruses having a tripartite, single-stranded, plus-stranded RNA genome.
• the genome (excluding the subgenomic RNA molecules) is segmented into three RNA molecules.
• This class includes: the alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) group, the ilarviruses, the bromoviruses, the cucumoviruses, and the hordei­viruses (van Vloten-Doting L et al . (1981) Intervirol. 15 :198-2O3; Matthews REF (1982) Classification and Nomenclature of Viruses ).
• the genome segments are separately encapsidated in bacilliform particles of different lengths.
• RNA4 a fourth subgenomic RNA (RNA4) is found in virus prepara­tions.
• a mixture of the three genome RNAs, together with a small amount of coat protein or its messenger, RNA4 (Bol JF et al . (1971) Virol. 46 :73-­85) is required to initiate infection.
• RNA4 is 881 nucleotides in length.
• the coding region is 66O nucleotides (not including the initia­tion and termination codon) flanked by a 5 ⁇ -untranslated region of 39 nucleotides and a 3 ⁇ -untranslated region of 182 nucleotides.
• the sequence of RNA4 is present in and located at the 3 ⁇ -end of RNA3 (Gould AR and Symons RH (1978) Eur. J. Biochem. 91 :269-278).
• AMV RNA3 The complete nucleotide sequence of AMV RNA3 has been disclosed (Barker RF et al . (1983) Nucl. Acids Res. 11 :2881-2891).
• a 24O base 5 ⁇ -noncoding region preceeds a 9O3 nucleotide open reading frame (ORF).
• ORF This ORF is followed by a 49 base intercistronic region and a 666 nucleo­tide ORF, this latter ORF encoding AMV coat protein.
• the coat protein gene is followed by a 179 base 3 ⁇ -untranslated sequence.
• AMV RNA4 is identical to and determined by the 3 ⁇ -end of RNA3, having 36 nucleotides of the intercistronic region, the coat protein structural gene, and the 3 ⁇ -untranslated sequence.
• RNA1 is 3645 nucleotides in length and it contains an ORF for a protein of M r 125,685 flanked by a 5 ⁇ -untranslated sequence of 99 nucleotides and a 3 ⁇ -untranslated region of 163 nucleotides.
• Cross protection refers to a phenomena wherein a plant infected by one strain of a virus is much less susceptible than an uninfected plant to superinfection by another strain of a related virus.
• Reviews of cross protection, induced systemic protection, and interaction of viruses during infection include Fulton RW (1982) in Active Defense Mechanisms in Plants , ed.: Wood RKS, pp. 231-245; Ross AF (1974) Acta Hort. 36 :247-26Od; Dean RA and Kuc J (1985) Trends Biotechnol. 3 :125-129; and Sequeira L (1984) Trends Biotechnol. 2 :25-29.
• Cross protection has been demonstrated for AMV (Schmelzer K (1963) Phytopathol. Z. 46 :17-52; "snowball mosaic virus” is a synonym for AMV).
• Plant cells infected by a virus naturally contain coat protein mole­cules that are not incorporated into virions. Sequeira, supra , suggests that if TMV coat protein proves to be involved in inhibiting uncoating of superinfecting virions, it might be useful to use a T-DNA vector to intro­duce a plant-expressible coat protein gene. Beven MW et al . (1985) EMBO J. 8 :1921-1926, used such a TMV coat protein gene/vector combination to transform tobacco cells. Though low levels of TMV coat protein were accumulated in the transformed callus tissues, protection from infection by TMV was not reported. Informal reports state that tobacco plants transformed by a similar vector/gene combination can be resistant to TMV infection (e.g. Bialy H and Klausher A (1986) Biotechnol. 4 :96; Freeman K (Feb. 1986) Genet. Eng. News 6 (2):18).
• This invention relates to the occurrence of viral infections in plants and to the efforts of horticulturists and agronomists to combat these infections in economically significant plant species.
• Virus infec­tions occur in every known plant species and cause significant reductions in the yield and quality of all agricultural and horticultural plant species.
• the plant industry in no country in the world is exempt from such virally caused damage and no consistent treatment is known to treat or prevent such viral infections.
• 9O% of the cassava plants in Kenya are infected by cassava mosaic virus resulting in an estimated 75% reduction in yield.
• alfalfa mosaic virus has been shown to cause serious decreases in crop yield.
• AMV infects alfalfa and other annual legume crops. This is economically important; in the United States alone approx­imately 3O million acres are planted in alfalfa.
• Alfalfa mosaic virus also causes economically important diseases in crop plants such as peppers, potatoes, celery, peas, and beans. Alfalfa can be an overwin­tering host from which aphids carry the virus. The disease is also spread from alfalfa to other species of crop plants following a build-up of aphid infestation. In many cases, plants infected by AMV show no symptoms making it difficult to detect the occurrence and spread of the disease. In other cases, the mosaic disease is evident but by that time the virus has almost certainly spread through a large area of plants in a field.
• methods for creating viral resistance genes in particular, coat protein genes inhibitory of viral replication, are provided.
• DNA molecules useful for creating such virus resistant plants are also described.
• the present invention is exemplified by putting into tobacco a coat protein gene that is transcribed into a translatable alfalfa mosaic virus coat protein-encoding transcript.
• plant cells do not contain viral coat protein unless they have been infected with that virus. Infected plants contain complete viral genomes in addition to coat protein. In general, plant cells have not been caused to contain coat protein without a viral infection. This is believed to be true in the case of AMV, though an exception to this statement might include plants transformed to contain plant-expressible TMV coat protein genes (see Cross Protection). As discussed in the Back­ground section on Cross Protection, before the present disclosure it was uncertain whether coat protein was involved in preventing superinfection of plants. It was also uncertain whether all examples of cross protection were due to the same mechanism. In other words, it was uncertain whether protection, due to the presence of coat protein, of a plant from infection by one particular virus could be extrapolated to protection from infection by another, unrelated virus due to presence of its coat protein.
• a plant-expressible promoter is any promoter capable of driving transcription in at least one type of plant cell in at least one developmental stage.
• Eukaryotic promoter sequences are commonly recognized by the presence of DNA sequences homolo­gous to the canonical form 5 ⁇ ...TATAA...3 ⁇ about 1O-3O base pairs (bp) 5 ⁇ -to the location of DNA sequences encoding the 5 ⁇ -end of a transcript (cap site).
• bp base pairs
• 3O bp 5 ⁇ -to the TATAA another promoter sequence is often found which is recognized by the presence of DNA sequences homol­gous to the canonical form 5 ⁇ ...CCAAT...3 ⁇ .
• Transcript Terminator refers herein to any nucleic acid sequence capable of determining the position of the 3 ⁇ -end of a transcript.
• the transcript terminator DNA segment may itself be a composite of segments derived from a plurality of sources, naturally occuring or synthetic, prokaryotic, or eukaryotic, and may be from a genomic DNA or an mRNA-­derived cDNA (mRNA: messenger RNA).
• Transcript termination sites include polyadenylation sites and sites determining the 3 ⁇ -end of ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), transfer RNAs (tRNAs), and nonpolyadenylated mRNAs (e.g. histone mRNA; Krieg PA and Melton DA (1984) Nature 3O8 :2O3-2O6).
• a polyadenylation site is a nucleic acid sequence correlated with polyadenylation of a transcript in eukaryotes, i.e. after transcriptional termination polyadenylic acid "tails" are added to the 3 ⁇ -end of mRNA precursors.
• Polyadenylation sites are commonly recognized by the presence of homology to the canonical form 5 ⁇ ...AATAAA...3 ⁇ , although variations of distance 5 ⁇ to the 3 ⁇ -end of the transcript, partial "read-thru", and multiple tandem canonical sequences are not uncommon. DNA sequences between 2O and 35 bp downstream from the transcripts 3 ⁇ -end seem to be necessary (McDevitt MA et al . (1984) Cell 37 :993-999).
• a canonical "polyadenylation site” may actually determine the location of the 3 ⁇ -end of the mRNA and not polyadenylation per se (Proudfoot N (1984) Nature 3O7 :412-413; Birnstiel ML et al . (1985) Cell 41 :349-359).
• Transcription Controlling Sequences refers to a promoter/transcript terminator site combination flanking a structural gene.
• the promoter and terminator DNA sequences flanking a particular foreign structural gene need not be derived from the same source genes (e.g. pairing two different T-DNA transcripts) or the same taxonomic source (e.g. pairing sequences from T-DNA with sequences from non-T-DNA sources such as plants, animals, fungi, yeasts, eukaryotic viruses, bacteria, and synthetic sequences).
• Coat Protein Gene Transcript and Coat Protein mRNA The former refers herein to the transcript of a plant-expressible coat protein gene while the latter refers herein to the coat protein-encoding mRNA present in nature during a viral infection.
• a “translatable transcript” will be recognized in the art to be a synonym for "messenger RNA”, these two different terms are used herein to distinguish between the messenger synthesized during a viral infecton and the product of the present inven­tion's coat protein gene.
• Coat Protein Gene Refers herein to a promoter, a DNA sequence encoding a coat protein (i.e. coat protein structural gene), and a tran­script terminator, the promoter, the structural gene, and the terminator having such position and orientation with respect to each other that, when in a plant cell, a coat protein-encoding transcript may be synthesized under control of the promoter and the terminator.
• a coat protein gene may be a composite of segments derived from a plurality of sources, naturally occurring or synthetic.
• a coat gene transcript may include sequences derived in whole or in part from prokaryotic DNA, eukaryotic DNA, episomal DNA, plasmid DNA, plastid DNA, genomic DNA, cDNA, viral DNA, viral cDNa, chemically synthesized DNA, or the like. It is further contemplated that a coat protein gene may contain one or more modifications in either the transcription control sequences, transcribed sequences, or viral cDNA, which could affect the biological activity or chemical structure of the coat protein, the rate of expression, or the manner of expression control.
• DNA encoding a coat protein gene may be an uninterrupted structural gene or it may include one or more introns, bounded by the appropriate plant-functional splice junctions, which may be obtained from synthetic or a naturally occurring source.
• cDNA (Complementary DNA) : Though this term is well understood in the art, it has two meanings. (1) A cDNA can be a single-stranded DNA comple­mentary to an RNA (e.g. a viral mRNA). (2) A cDNA can also be a double-­stranded DNA segment, one strand of which is complementary to an RNA, the other strand having a sequence equivalent to that RNA (substituting T for U). Generally, a double-stranded cDNA is derived from a single-stranded cDNA. However, as defined herein, a double-stranded DNA encoding mRNA sequences, e.g. the DNA of a structural gene, is included within the term cDNA. In this Specification, the meaning of cDNA is defined by context and will be well understood by those in the art.
• Plus-Stranded refers to viruses having genomes having sequences equivalent to that of the viruses' mRNA; i.e. RNA found in virus particles is not complementary to viral mRNA. Often the viral RNA of plus-stranded viruses can serve as an mRNA.
• AMV is an example of a plus-stranded virus; each of the four RNAs found in AMV virions is capable of serving as an mRNA.
• Minus-strand or antisense RNA, refers to the complement of the plus-strand.
• Tripartite RNA Genome Refers to organization of a virus's genetic material. "Genome” refers to the total genetic material of the virus. "RNA genome” states that as present in virions (virus particles), the genome is in RNA form. Tripartite indicates that the genome is divided among three separate RNA molecules.
• An example of a virus with a tripar­tite RNA genome is AMV. The genome of AMV is carried by AMV RNAs 1, 2, and 3. The sequence of RNA4 is totally contained by RNA3 and RNA4 is not replicated; therefore RNA4 is referred to as a subgenomic RNA and is not counted as one of the genomic RNAs.
• Translational Initiation Site Refers herein to the 5 ⁇ AUG3 ⁇ transla­tional start codon at the 5 ⁇ -end of a structural gene, the nucleotide following the AUG, and the 3 nucleotides preceeding the AUG (see Kozak M (1983) Microbiol. Rev. 47 :1-45, and Kozak M (1984) Nucl. Acids Res. 12 :857-872).
• 5 ⁇ -Untranslated Sequence refers herein to the part of an mRNA or transcript between its 5 ⁇ -end, or "cap site”, and the translational start codon.
• Plant-Expressible Selectable or Screenable Marker refers herein to a genetic marker functional in a plant cell.
• a selectable marker e.g. a kanamycin resistance gene
• a screenable marker e.g. a beta -glactosidase gene
• Essentially Full-Length cDNA refers herein to a cDNA that is com­plementary to an entire mRNA, possibly excepting a few (e.g. about five) nucleotides at either end of that mRNA sequence.
• Transforming refers to the act of causing a cell to contain a nucleic molecule or sequence not originally part of that cell.
• Plant Tissue Includes differentiated and undifferentiated tissues of plants including but not limited to roots, shoots, pollen, seeds, tumor tissue, such as crown galls, and various forms of aggregations of plant cells in culture, such as embryos and calluses.
• the plant tissue may be in planta or in organ, tissue, or cell culture.
• Plant Cell As used herein includes plant cells in planta and plant cells and protoplasts in culture.
• the fundamental aspects of the invention are the nature of the coat protein gene and its use to confer resistance to viral infections of plants trans­formed therewith. Other aspects include the nature and structure of the coat protein structural gene sequence and its means of insertion and expression in a plant genome.
• the remaining steps of the preferred embod­iment for obtaining a genetically modified plant include inserting the coat protein gene into T-DNA, transferring the modified T-DNA to a plant cell wherein the modified T-DNA becomes stably integrated as part of the plant cell genome, techniques for in vitro culture and eventual regenera­tion into whole plants, which may include steps for selecting and detec­ting transformed plant cells and steps of transferring the introduced coat protein gene from the originally transformed strain into commercially acceptable cultivars, and monitoring expression in transformed plants.
• a starting point for construction of a coat protein gene is obtaining DNA clones of viral sequences. If the virus is a DNA virus, the DNA clones are obtainable using methods well known in the art of recombinant DNA. If the virus is an RNA virus, a cDNA clone must be made from the viral sequence desired. A number of methods for making cDNA clones are known in the art of recombinant DNA; choice of methods will depend on variables such as polyadenylation, RNA length, prior knowledge of RNA sequence, prior preparations within the particular laboratory for other cDNA cloning experiments, and the like.
• a principal feature of the present invention in its preferred embodi­ment is the construction of a T-DNA derivative having an inserted gene under control of plant-expressible transcription controlling sequences, i.e., between a promoter and a transcript terminator, as these terms have been defined, supra .
• the coat protein-encoding structural gene must be inserted in correct position and orientation with respect to the pro­moter. Position relates to which side of the promoter the structural gene is inserted. It is known that the majority of promoters control initia­tion of transcription and translation in one direction only along the DNA. The region of DNA lying under promoter control is said to lie "downstream” or alternatively "behind” or "3 ⁇ to" the promoter.
• the correct position of a struc­tural gene insertion must be "downstream" from the promoter.
• Orientation refers to the directionality of the structural gene. That portion of a coat protein-encoding DNA which encodes the amino terminus of a viral coat protein is termed the 5 ⁇ -end of the structural gene, while that end which encodes amino acids near the carboxyl end of the protein is termed the 3 ⁇ -end of the structural gene. Correct orientation of the coat protein-­encoding DNA is with the 5 ⁇ -end thereof proximal to the promoter. Similarly to the promoter region, the transcript terminator must be located in correct position and orientation relative to the coat protein structural gene, being proximal to the 3 ⁇ -end of the structural gene.
• Coat protein gene transcript accumulation may also be greatly influenced by the details of the coat protein gene transcript secondary structure, especially stem-loop structures. Different properties, including, but not limited to, such properties as stability, intracellular localization, posttranscriptional processing, and other functional properties of the expressed coat protein gene itself may be observed when the gene's components are varied. All of these variations present numerous opportunities to manipulate and control the functional properties of the viral resistance phenotype, depending upon the desired physiological properties within the plant cell, plant tissue, and whole plant.
• the fundamental principle of the present invention is that the presence of coat protein in a plant cell is capable of conferring at least some level of viral resistance to that cell.
• the present invention is not limited by the mode or mechanism of interference.
• the coat protein gene need not encode a full-length structural gene; any encoded coat protein structural gene derivative that interferes with viral infection is sufficient.
• the transcript of a coat protein gene may include non­viral sequences. Even in cases where a full-length viral sequence is included, a coat protein gene transcript may include nonviral sequences. Usually these nonviral sequences will be at the 5 ⁇ -and 3 ⁇ -ends of the coat protein transcript. Often these nonviral components will be derived from promoter or transcript terminator DNA segments. Inclusion of various nonviral sequences may affect RNA stability, cellular localization of the transcript, posttranscriptional processing, and the like. It is known to the art that RNA stability is affected by terminal structures such as 5 ⁇ -capping and 3 ⁇ -polyadenylation and by the extent of internal structure, i.e. intramolecular basepairing.
• a coat protein transcript may be localized within a cell, e.g. a transcript having a translatable sequence encoding a signal peptide-containing polypeptide will tend to be bound to rough endoplasmic reticulum.
• An intron may be included in a coat protein gene, provided that, if the splice sites are derived from two different genes, the intron splice sites be compatable.
• Combining of DNA segments, including viral, nonviral, promoter, and transcript terminator sequences, to form a coat protein gene is accom­plished by means known and understood by those of ordinary skill in the art of recombinant DNA technology.
• Choice of promoter depends on the developmental regulation desired. Use of developmentally regulated promo­ters for gene expression in plants is described in the Background. T-DNA or CaMV promoters are advantageous as they are constitutive.
• the RuBP-Case small subunit promoter may be useful for expression in the green tissues of coat protein gene-transformed plant.
• the transcript terminator is a polyadenylation site.
• the plant gene source of the polyadenylation site is not crucial provided that the polyadenylation site, the promoter and the coat protein structural gene are compatable for transcription and posttranscriptional processing.
• the coat protein gene combination may be placed between any restriction sites con­venient for removing the combination from the plasmid it is carried on and convenient for insertion into the plant transformation vector of choice.
• location of the coat protein gene insertion site within T-DNA is not critical as long as the transfer function of sequences immediately surrounding the T-DNA borders are not disrupted, since in prior art studies these regions appear to be essential for insertion of the modified T-DNA into the plant genome.
• the combination is inserted into the plant transformation vector by standard techniques well known to those skilled in the art.
• the orientation of the assembled coat protein gene, with respect to the direction of transcription and translation of endogenous vector genes is not usually critical; generally, either of the two possible orientations is functional.
• T-DNA or micro-Ti plasmids can be transferred from an Agrobacterium strain to a plant cell provided the Agrobacterium strain contains certain trans -acting genes whose function is to promote the transfer of T-DNA to a plant cell.
• Micro-Ti plasmids are advantageous in that they are small and relatively easy to manipulate directly, eliminating the need to transfer the gene to T-DNA from a shuttle vector by homologous recombination. After the desired coat protein gene has been inserted, they can easily be introduced directly into an Agrobacterium cell containing trans -acting vir genes, the vir genes usually being on a "helper plasmid", that promotes T-DNA transfer.
• Introduction into an Agrobacterium strain is conveniently accomplished either by transformation of the Agrobacterium strain or by conjugal transfer from a donor bacterial cell, the techniques for which are well known to those of ordinary skill.
• Ti plasmids, Ri plasmids, micro-Ti plasmids, and T-DNA integrated into chromosomes should be con­sidered functionally equivalent.
• T-DNA having a coat protein gene can be transferred to plant cells by any technique known in the art. For example, this transfer is most con­veniently accomplished by cocultivation of the Agrobacterium strain with plant cells or with plant tissues. Using these methods, a certain propor­tion of the plant cells are transformed, that is to say have T-DNA trans­ferred therein and inserted in the plant cell genome. In either case, the transformed cells must be selected or screened to distinguish them from untransformed cells. Selection is most readily accomplished by providing a selectable marker incorporated into the T-DNA in addition to the coat protein gene. Examples of artificial markers include those reviewed in the Background (see the sections on Chimeric Genes).
• the T-DNA provides endogenous markers such as gene(s) controlling abnormal morphology of Ri-induced tumor roots and gene(s) that control resistance to toxic compounds such as amino acid analogs, such resistance being pro­vided by an opine synthesizing enzyme (e.g. ocs ).
• Screening methods well known to those skilled in the art include, but are not limited to, assays for opine production, specific hybridization to characteristic nucleic acid sequences (e.g. coat protein transcripts or T-DNA) or immunological assays for specific proteins (e.g. coat protein).
• a pheno­type of an expressed coat protein gene e.g. resistance to a target virus
• Assay of viral resistance may be done by one of a number of methods well known in the art of plant virology, including detection of decrease production of a virus component (e.g. a viral RNA or a viral protein), decrease infectivity as assayed by protoplast infection or local lession assays, decrease production of progeny virus, and the like.
• a virus component e.g. a viral RNA or a viral protein
• T-DNA-based vector systems known to the art may readily be substitu­ted.
• the preferred embodiment of this invention incorporates a T-DNA-based Agrobacterium -mediated system for incorporation of the coat protein gene into the genome of the plant which is to be transformed, other means for transferring and incorporating the coat protein gene are also included within the scope of this invention.
• Other means for the stable incorporation of the coat protein gene into a plant genome additionally include, but are not limited to, use of vectors based upon viral genomes, minichromosomes, transposons, and homologous or non-­homologous recombination into plant chromosomes.
• Alternate forms of delivery of these vectors into a plant cell additionally include, but are not limited to, fusion with vector-containing liposomes or bacterial spheroplasts, microinjection, encapsidation in viral coat protein followed by an infection-like process, and direct uptake of DNA, possibly after induction of plasmalemma permeability by an electric pulse, a laser, or a chemical agent. Means for transient incorporation and/or expression are also included within the scope of this invention.
• Systems based on Agrobacterium cells and T-DNAs can be used to transform angiosperms, including dicots and monocots, by transfer of DNA from a bacterium to a plant cell; systems based on alternate vectors or means for vector delivery may be used to transform gymnosperms and angiosperms.
• Regeneration of transformed cells and tissues is accomplished by resort to known techniques.
• An object of the regeneration step is to obtain a whole plant that grows and reproduces normally but which retains integrated T-DNA.
• the techniques of regeneration vary somewhat according to principles known in the art, and may depend upon the plant transforma­tion vector and the species of the transformed plant. Regeneration of transformed tobacco plants, petunia plants, and plants of related species is well known to the art. As means for regeneration of other plant species are developed, the art will understand, without undue experimenta­tion, how to adapt these newly discovered means for regeneration of plants from transformed plant cells and transformed plant tissues.
• the genotype of the plant tissue transformed is often chosen for the ease with which its cells can be grown and regenerated in in vitro culture and for susceptibility to the selective agent to be used. Should a culti­var of agronomic interest be unsuitable for these manipulations, a more amenable variety is first transformed. After regeneration, the newly introduced coat protein gene may be readily transferred to the desired agronomic cultivar by techniques well known to those skilled in the arts of plant breeding and plant genetics. Sexual crosses of transformed plants with the agronomic cultivars yield initial hybrids. These hybrids can then be back-crossed with plants of the desired genetic background.
• Progeny are continuously screened and/or selected for the continued presence of integrated coat protein gene DNA, T-DNA, or for a new pheno­type resulting from expression of the coat protein gene or other genes carried by the inserted DNA. In this manner, after a number of rounds of back-crossing and selection, plants can be produced having a genotype essentially identical to the agronomically desired parents with the addi­tion of inserted DNA sequences.
• An alternative to incorporation of a coat protein gene into a plant genome for making a coat protein-containing plant cell is to infect a plant with a vector viral RNA capable of being maintained in that plant, the viral RNA having coat protein-encoding sequences to a target virus (i.e. a virus to which one wants protection that is distinct from the vector virus).
• a target virus i.e. a virus to which one wants protection that is distinct from the vector virus.
• double-stranded cDNA sequences of the vector virus and the target virus are manipulated using recombinant DNA tech­nology.
• the plant viral vector cDNA/coat protein cDNA combination may be placed behind a promoter that can drive in vitro transcription.
• Infection by a vector/coat protein sequence combination of a plant cell may then be effected by known methods and, after inoculation with the target virus or target virus RNA, inhibition of infection or production of a viral com­ponent may be assayed by methods well known in the art. Using such methods, high levels of coat protein transcript and coat protein may be accumulated.
• plant viral DNA vectors may be used to introduce a coat protein gene into a plant cell.
• the utility of such vectors has been demonstrated by Brisson N et al . (1984) Nature 31O :511-514.
• the means for creating functional coat protein genes as taught by the present invention can be combined with use of plant DNA virus-based vectors by those of ordinary skill in the art. After infection of an appropriate plant host cell, inhibition of target, virus infection may be assayed as described above.
• Plasmids, and only plasmids, are prefaced with a "p", e.g. pTi15955 or pH4OO, and strain designations parenthetically indicate a plasmid harbored within, e.g., A . tumefaciens (pTi15955) or E . coli K8O2 (pH4OO).
• p e.g. pTi15955 or pH4OO
• strain designations parenthetically indicate a plasmid harbored within, e.g., A . tumefaciens (pTi15955) or E . coli K8O2 (pH4OO).
• the following strains are on deposit and will be made available to the art upon grant of letters patent: (ATCC: American Type Culture Collection, 123O1 Parklawn Dr., Rockville, MD 2O852 USA; NRRL: ARS Patent Collection, Northern Regional Research Center, 1815 N. University St., Pe
• pSP65A4 (Leosch-Fries LS et al . (1985) Virol. 146 :177-187) carries a full-length cDNA copy of AMV RNA4 in pSP65.
• pSP65 is designed for in vitro transcription under control of a bacteriophage SP6 promoter (Melton DA et al . (1984) Nucl. Acids Res. 12 :7O35-7O56; Krieg PA and Melton DA (1984) Nucl. Acids Res. 12 :7O57-7O7O).
• pSP65A4 directs synthe­sis of AMV coat protein-encoding sequences. When it is cut by Sma I and Eco RI in vitro run-off transcripts are essentially full-length coat protein mRNA sequence.
• pDOB512 carrying cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) transcription con­trolling sequences (obtained from Dr. Ken Richards, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institute de Biologie Mole Les et Cellulaire, 15, rue Descartes, F-67O84 France) was constructed as follows: (For a review of CaMV, see Hohn T et al . (1982) Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol. 96 :193-236.) A Hin dIII fragment carrying the CaMV 19S RNA promoter region (CaMV nucleotides 5376-5851) was inserted into pBR322 and was trimmed back to within one base pair of the 19S transcript cap site.
• CaMV cauliflower mosaic virus
• pDOB412 A Hin cII fragment carrying the CaMV 19S transcript terminator (CaMV nucleotides 7O18-7794) to which Bam HI linkers had been added was then inserted behind the 19S promoter; the resulting plasmid is designated pDOB412.
• pDOB412 was digested with Bgl II and Sal I, filled in by the Klenow fragment of E . coli DNA polymerase I, and religated, thereby dele­ting DNA, which includes Bam HI and Hin dIII sites, between the CaMV posi­tion 7644 Bgl II site and the pBR322 position 65O Sal I site and regenera­ting a Bgl II site.
• the resultant plasmid was designated pDOB512.
• Hin dIII linearized pDOB512 DNA The sticky-ends of Hin dIII linearized pDOB512 DNA were filled in by Klenow fragment (or alternatively by T4 DNA polymerase).
• the blunt-ended pDOB512 DNA was mixed with and ligated to commercially available Bgl II linkers.
• the ligation mix was then transformed into E . coli K8O2 and an ampicillin-resistant transformant was isolated which harbored a plasmid designated pDOB513.
• pDOB513 has CaMV 19S transcription controlling sequences on a Bgl II fragment.
• Sma I and Bam HI sites are found between the DNA segments having the promoter and the polyadenylation site in both pDOB412, pDOB512, and pDOB513, thereby providing a convenient location for insertion of foreign DNA that is to be a template for a transcript.
• pSP65A4 DNA was digested with Eco RI and Sma I and the O.89 kbp AMV cDNA was purified by elution from an agarose gel after electrophoretic separation. The Eco RI sticky-end was converted to a blunt-end by incuba­tion with the Klenow fragment of E . coli DNA polymerase I. After Sma I-­linearized pDOB513 DNA was mixed with and ligated to the blunt-ended cDNA, the ligation products were transformed into MC1O61. Ampicillin-resistant transformants were screened by colony hybidization to an AMV RNA4 probe.
• a colony was identified harboring a plasmid, designated pDOBA4, having AMV cDNA inserted between CaMV 19S transcription controlling sequences oriented so that when transcribed, a coat protein-encoding transcript would be synthesized; i.e. so that the Eco RI end and an internal Bam HI site are proximal to the promoter and distal to the transcript termina­tor.
• a CaMV transcription controlling sequences/AMV coat protein struc­tural gene combination may be removed from pDOBA4 on a 1.92 kbp Bgl II fragment.
• pH4-1 is a micro-Ti plasmid harbored by E . coli K8O2 (pH4-1), which is on deposit as NRRL B-18OO9. pH4-1 is disclosed by Sutton DW et al ., U.S. Patent application ser. no. 778,384*, which is hereby incorporated by reference, and by Merlo D et al . (1985) Abstracts, 1st Int. Cong. Plant Mol. Biol., ed.: Galau GA. pH4-1 contains two T-DNA fragments, a Hin dIII fragment spanning positions 6O2 and 2,29O (as defined by Barker RF et al . (1983) Plant Mol. Biol.
• This marker has as CaMV 19S promoter, a Tn 5 kanamycin resistance structural gene encoding neomycin phosphotrans­ferase II, and two polyadenylation sites, one from CaMV and another from T-DNA ORF26, donated by a T-DNA fragment spanning Hin cII sites at posi­tions 21,727 and 22,44O.
• the kanamycin resistance gene is oriented para­llel to ocs and tml and antiparallel to the ORF1 promoter.
• the T-DNA/selectable marker combination is inserted into the Hin dIII site of pSUP1O6, an 11 kbp wide host-range plasmid capable of maintenance in both E .
• T-DNA is oriented within pSUP1O6 so that the T L right border is proximal to the pSUP1O6 Eco RI site, which is present within pSUP1O6 chloramphenicol resis­tance gene. * See also Gray, L.E. et al ., Plant Science (1986) 47 :45-55.
• pH4-1 has two Bgl II sites, both of which flank the kan selectable marker. One of the Bgl II sites was removed, thereby leaving a unique Bgl II site useful for insertion of extraneous coding DNA, as follows: pH4-1 DNA was linearized by being partially digested with Bgl II and full-­length, linear DNA was electrophoretically isolated. The Bgl II sticky-­ends were then removed by incubation with the Klenow fragment of E . coli DNA polymerase I. The resulting blunt-ended DNA was ligated to itself and transformed into E . coli .
• pH4OO Plasmid DNAs isolated from transformants resis­tant to chloramphenicol were screened by restriction analysis and a colony was identified which harbored a plasmid designated pH4OO. pH4OO was iden­tical to pH4-1 except for the absence of the Bgl II site between the kan gene and the ORF1 promoter, the unique pH4OO Bgl II site being located between the kan gene and the ocs gene.
• pH4OOA4 has a coat protein gene having full-length AMV RNA4 sequences, the gene being oriented parallel to the 3 ⁇ -deleted tml gene, ocs , and the kanamycin selectable marker.
• pH4OOA4 was transferred into A . tumefaciens LBA44O4 (Ooms G et al . (1981) Gene 14 :33-5O), a vir gene-harboring, micro-Ti-mobilizing strain, by the triparental mating technique. (Ruvkun GB and Ausubel FM (1981) Nature 289 :85-88), which is well known in the art, or by mating from a mobilizing strain of E . coli , e.g. SM1O (NRRL B-15481) or S17-1 (NRRL B-15483) (Simon R et al . (1982) Biotechnol. 1 :784-791).
• SM1O NRRL B-15481
• S17-1 NRRL B-15483
• Tobacco leaf tissue was obtained from 4- and 5-week old Xanthi NC plants grown axenically in Magenta boxes. Inoculation was by a modification of the method Horsch RB et al . (1985) Science 227 :1229-1231. Inocula were pre­pared by placing two loopfuls of agrobacteria in 1O ml of L-broth. After suspension by forceful pipetting with a Pasteur pipet, inocula could be used immediately. Leaves were excised and midribs were removed; cutting surfaces were wetted with L-broth to help keep the leaves wet. Leaf pieces were about 2-4 mm wide and about 7-1O mm long.
• Leaf segments were dipped in the inoculum for 5-1O min, though in some experiments leaf pieces were just briefly dipped into the inoculum or were infiltrated with the inoculum in a facumn flask. Pieces were then blotted dry on sterile filter paper and placed upside down on feeder plates prepared from a Xanthi suspension culture.
• the feeder plates had a SMPi medium (SMpi: MX ⁇ supplemented with O.1 mg/l p-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (pCPA) and 7.5 mg/l 6-(8,8-dimethyallylamino)purine (2iP); MX ⁇ : 1.65 g/l NH4NO3, 1.9 g/l KNO3, 44O mg/l CaCl2 ⁇ 2H2O, 37O mg/l MgSO4 ⁇ 7H2O, 17O mg/l KH2PO4, O.83 mg/l KI, 6.2 mg/l H3BO3, 22.3 mg/l MnSO4 ⁇ 4H2O, 8.6 mg/l ZnSO4 ⁇ 7H2O, O.25 mg/l Na2MoO4 ⁇ 2H2O, O.O25 mg/l CuSO4 ⁇ 5H2O, O.O25 mg/l CoCl2 ⁇ 5H2O, 37.23 mg/l Na2 ⁇ EDTA, 27.85 mg/l FeSO4
• Leaf pieces were removed from feeder plates after 4-6 days and placed on SMPi medium supplemented with 5OO mg/l carbenicillin, 5O mg/l cloxacillin, and 1OO-3OO mg/l kanamycin (2OO mg/l optimum). The resulting shoots were excised and placed on MX ⁇ medium supplemented with 1OO-3OO mg/l kanamycin (2OO mg/l optimum).
• Untransformed control tobacco plants and coat protein gene-containing tobacco plants are challenged by inoculating carborundum-abraided leaves with AMV virions.
• plants having a coat protein gene are observed to be resistant to AMV infection or to have reduced or delayed symptoms, depending on the level of coat protein in tissues of a particular plant.
• AMV infection The establishment of an AMV infection is known to be coat protein dependent.
• This coat protein may be supplied as part of an inoculum (either as free coat protein or in the form of virions) or may be synthe­sized early in the infection process if RNA4 is present in the inoculum. If the transformed protoplasts contain coat protein, establishment of infection should no longer be dependent on the presence in the inoculum of coat protein or its messenger RNA.
• Tobacco protoplasts were prepared and inoculated essentially as described by Samac DA et al . (1983) Virol. 131 :455-462. A major modification was that RNA was added in a small volume (e.g.
• Tobacco protoplasts were infected in vitro with AMV virions essen­tially as described by above for RNA.
• control protoplasts had significantly lower levels of infection than pro­toplasts which contained coat protein as assayed by ELISA (Table 3).
• levels of protection varied, infection levels for protoplasts containing AMV coat protein were always less than observed for untrans­formed controls. This demonstrated that the presence of AMV coat protein in a plant cell can protect that cell from infection by alfalfa mosaic virus.

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